June Books

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 30th June, from 5.30pm at Costa Coffee, Longfield Centre.

Our books for June:

 

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a classic of socialist literature, exploring the plight of a group of painters and decorators who are oppressed by their exploitative employers. Since its first publication, Robert Tressell's passionate and enlightened novel has had a perspective-changing, revelatory impact on generations of readers. The eye-opening spectacle of the workers, refusing to acknowledge that they are being ground down at the hands of their masters is brilliantly conceived. Notable for its humour, humanity and frankness The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists is a hugely meaningful and important novel.

The Review 

The story of this book took place in the early 1900’s, although the premise of the book is clear it was still shocking for readers to follow the story of children starving to death, due to the poor conditions under which their parents worked. That they would work hard all their life and still end up with nothing, but the impact of their employers making job as cheap as possible in order to make as much money as possible was significant. The workers were owned by the job, skills were not recognised and they weren’t even given enough materials to the job.

What frustrated all our readers was the inability (or perhaps apathy) to change the culture which at best was exploitation but bullying was also frequent. The men seemed to be content with being taken on the annual workers outing, although poor treatment continued, the trip was just another means of control, but the workers did not see through this.

Our discussion of the book did draw a contrast to today, although conditions are not as severe, there are still many example of worker being treated unfairly or not being able to afford to live reasonably on the pay they receive. An interesting read, but reading was made difficult by the sadness of the material.

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the tumult and intrigue of The Wars of the Roses to vivid life through the women of the House of Lancaster and the House of York, beginning with the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen. A woman who won the love of a king and ascended to royalty by virtue of her beauty, Elizabeth fought tenaciously for the success of her family -- her daughter who would one day unite the warring dynasties, and her two sons whose eventual fate has confounded historians for centuries: the Princes in the Tower. An active player in the power struggles that surrounded her, she made hard and courageous choices, always trying to protect those whom she loved. Informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills, Philippa Gregory gives an unforgettable voice to an extraordinary woman at the heart of a devastating conflict.

The Review

Most of our readers enjoyed this book (and keen to read more in the series) as the idea of using the historical context to create the story was considered to be well executed. Although the use of magical powers is perhaps not so credible, we reflected on witchcraft being an accepted notion during this period in history.

The tenacity of the fight of the Woodville’s  was clear and perhaps even impressive given the lack of power women had in society during this period and length of time the fight for family success lasted.

It was recommended to the group that the story is further supported by the series of programmes with Philippa Gregory, that discuss the history and facts behind the story.